- Design it until you Love it. Engraved on November 3, 2008 by Michael Dick; Comments (6)
I browse css galleries before I start any design, even if I have a clear vision of the direction I want to go with. My favorite gallery to browse for inspiration is CSSMania because it showcases a ton of sites everyday, some good and bad, but it gives you a fairly good thumbnail so you can weed out the bad sites.
When I am browsing galleries I'l go through and click on the thumbnails that have potential. The first problem is almost every design looks good in a small thumbnail so when the site loads it either gets a quick close, or i stay and examine it.
Too often when I am looking through designs I see so many sites that have some great potential...but that's all. I get to looking at it closely and spot minor details that don't seem finished. It's like the designer gave up half way.
Don't do Time Limits
A lot of companies surround the designer with limits, such as time limits. Some companies will give their designer 8, 10, or 13 hours to complete a design.
I don't care who you are, as soon as you hear "Michael you have 12 hours to complete this design" your creative mind locks up. You are no longer thinking about what you can do to make the UX, wireframe, or detail better, You are only thinking about what you can sacrifice to meet both the quality and time expectations. On top of that you are too afraid to take breaks to rest your creative mind.
Perfect the Subtleties
I design with an extreme sense of detail, so my expectations are always high, even on little brochure sites that could get by with a simple web 2.0 look. The type of detail I look for are the subtle details; I notice things like if there should have been 5px more padding, or 5px more margin-top.
I notice when the navigation doesn't feel anchored, or when the header (your typical logo and navigation) doesn't flow into the body of your site well enough.
If you don't Love it, don't Deliver it
If I am working on a design and I don't absolutely think that it's the best work I've done then I won't deliver it. I will sit there for hours tweaking the smallest detail until I feel like everything flows.
If you are not going to showcase it in your portfolio, don't deliver it. If you are not going to show your friends, don't deliver it.
What are some small details that stick out to you?
Comments
- Engraved by Scott Beckman on 11/03/2008
- Great article man I really enjoyed reading this one.
- Engraved by Brandon Green on 11/03/2008
- I agree with your article here Michael. I too look for these intricate details even though I'm not quite as design minded as you.
I think if your a web designer in general and have a sense of design, then these things become more and more familiar to you and you can, as you stated, "weed" out the bad designs.
Looking through galleries is a great tactic and a good step-taking method towards gathering ideas to help supply an upcoming design.
Overall, good article. No pictures? ;)
- Engraved by Jonathan Solichin on 11/03/2008
- I'm with you on that mate. I keep finding myself in a position where a couple of pixels can bother me. OCD much? haha
On the other hand you have to be careful when you don't have a time limit as not to bloat your product. So sometimes time restriction can be a good thing. It make sure your product is simple. KISS is good right? But I do agree it can lock up one's creative juices.
- Engraved by Jordan Flaig on 11/04/2008
- Haha yes you are picky when it comes down to the slightest pixel. lol
- Engraved by Ivo Ivanov on 12/15/2008
- Great article Michael! I agree with you, completely.
Give your word.
HTML is allowed...line breaks are converted to <br />'s. You need to be somewhat friendly, at least to me or you'll get deleted. Now off, go post!